Received another rejection for a short story I submitted to the Urban Occult anthology by Anachron Press. I'm used to rejections, I have a thick skin, but what I do find discourteous is that lack of a reason why the story was rejected. As I've stated before, it's easy to slap on a simple "Due to time constraints, we regret we're unable to give specifics on our reasons for the rejection".
But I feel that's a cop out, especially for themed anthologies that necessitate a unique story rather than recycling a story in your portfolio. And don't get me wrong, I'm not expecting a three-page write-up or a line by line copy edit. But, I do feel that a simple sentence stating what the basic justification for the rejection would be the professional thing to do. Something simple like "Your opening just didn't grab me", "I lost interest by page two", or "The ending was too predictable". I'm sure the slush pile reader has to explain why a story has been rejected, even if it's something as simple as not following guidelines.
That's enough of a clue for the writer to revisit their piece. Writers need feedback to improve and if the writer takes the time to submit a story and a slush pile reader reads it, there should be some feedback generated.
Thoughts?
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